Apartment for an Engineer

Architects: CXEMA​

Year: 2019

Location: Moscow, Russia

This 50m² studio apartment in Moscow belongs to Artyom, an engineer. Artyom was very active in the design of this space, assisting with certain engineering questions. The project budget was minimal, so all decisions and solutions relating to material and layout were as simple as possible.

The architects divided this average-sized Moscow apartment into two parts: they combined the living room and the kitchen, and raised the bedroom and workspace on a plywood podium alongside the windows.

Despite this division between the private and the public, the apartment feels unified. The two zones are quite compact and free up space in the living and working areas, where the owners spend most of their time.

A tall island in the middle of the room makes the kitchen invisible from the living room. The bedroom is separated from the kitchen and living room by a partition of LED tubes designed by Artyom. The color of the tubes can be changed with a computer.

The architects chose to use natural materials for the finishings and furniture: wood, micro cement, and natural colored paint. The ceiling was left in its original concrete form. The owners decorated the apartment themselves with pictures and plants but the living room rug was provided by the architects, who brought it back from Morocco.

There are two shelves with wheels on both sides of the sofa. When connected, they form an additional table.

Artyom came up with and assembled certain elements of the furniture, including the mini-sauna in the bathroom.

Photographs: Ivaan Erofeev